Social Media
Collected advice for marketing '''and '''branding '''on social media, '''community engagement. Also: information specific to networks. Resources *Social Media Examiner :: Weblog. Daily news, tips, tricks, tutorials, reports, statistics and more from the world of social media. Has podcasts. Geared towards business owners, marketers. * Checklists to set up a presence: Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn | Google+ | Pinterest (very cool!) * Tip Sheet from Pamela Wilson ** Small businesses have an easier time being authentic on social media *** Be a real person! Don't automate stuff ** Drive them to your web site: send them there to interact with your stuff ** Drive people back to old content! Re-post same content in different shape later * Facebook Debugger: https://developers.facebook.com/tools/debug General Notes *Publish content on social media on Friday and Saturday *Make social sharing easy! Read more here: customizing share buttons * People spend more time on visual networks: ** Pinterest ** Tumblr ** Instagram ** Youtube ** Facebook Using Social Media Right #Brainstorm topics ahead of time so you can maintain a consistent message over time #Focus on two or three platforms so you don’t spread yourself too thin #Develop a helpful, easy-to-use website, and use social media to drive followers there #Add your logo and web address to social media images you create #Use email marketing to send your most important messages to your followers About User Behaviour *User motivations article on Content Marketing Institute **'Likes or +1s:' admiration. ***Entertaining, positive, inspiring, beautiful content ***Images including people, celebrities. Portraits ***Static and vertical images **'Shares:' identification, self-reflection ***Memes, animated 'gifs, quotes, animals, food ***Horizontal images **'Comments: text posts (as opposed to visual) *So: do I want to gain admiration (a) or exposure (b)? *Combine visual content with written quality Customer Service * Providing customer service (article on Social Media Examiner) on Facebook: answer quickly *Give updates and be honest about them (e.g. when resolving issues) *Be generous: give customers exposure, praise, benefits Social Advertising *'Social advertising '''is big! Figure out how to use it *Integrate: '''e-mail '''and '''social'. *# E-mail for customer retention *# Social for bringing in new clients *# Use one to boost the other (invite ppl to join, test headlines, convert e-mail content to status updates) *Include tweet/share buttons '''on every part of my web site, and Twitter widgets, transactional tweets ("I just signed") Engaging the Community * '''See also: "Social Media Interaction" on Community Management page * Add "play" button to my images (for psychological effect - even if it's not a video!) * Subtle calls to action: sound like a friend's recommendation * Capitalize on major holidays, events * Make silly jokes once in a while * 70/20/10 rule for content: ** 70% brand- and business-building, i.e. valuable info for customers ** 20% foreign content ** 10% self-promotion * Again: good customer service * Post often: at least once a day * Respond to everyone! * Deliver content that interests the fans: not necessarily my own stuff, but what else fans may be into * Use video to tell stories * Capture the mood of every season User-Generated Content Article on Social Media Examiner * Crowdsource new feature/product ideas * Finish this article! Sharing Content on Social Media * Excellent info from Social Media Examiner! Steps for: ** Featuring content on Facebook ** Tweeting ** Google+ ** LinkedIn ** Pinterest *** + strategy proposal for marketing campaign * Include CTA and backlink to my web page with posts ** Give people a reason to click through ** e.g. urgency! * Make message coherent: ** Headline to text to image to goal to landing page Facebook Setting up a Page See also checklist. * Article on Social Media Examiner: 6 ways ** Set up (contact) forms in tabs *** Advertise to drive viewers to them ** Customize the page: my logos, my look ** Have a clear cover photo: shows who I am and what I do in 3 seconds *** No 20% text rule here *** Change according to e.g. seasons, holidays ** Have a good''' about''' section *** Complete every field you can! *** Description: start with URL ** Use apps to extend functionality (e.g. newsletter sign-up) ** Strategy! SME recommends 3 posts per day: *** Photo (message, relevant) *** Text Update (questions, fill-in-the-blank) *** Links (to my site, including CTA) - use trackable link from bit.ly or Pretty Link! Spreading the Message: "Facebook Reach" "Facebook reach": the number of unique people who saw my content. Different kinds: * post: people who see a post in their newsfeed * page: seeing my post content during a period of time (e.g. week) ** organic: for free - fans see updates, random users pop in ** viral: people reach me through backlinks (e.g. fans sharing my shit) ** paid: I paid somebody to promote my posts * Do I want fans to see individual posts or cement my brand's presence? * "Facebook Insights" allows me to track e.g. when my fans are online ** So post when most are online ** No other social networks offer similar service to "Insights" * Should I pay for reach? Yes, if I want the right (valuable) content to reach more people. More reach advice: * For good reach: post 3 times a day! (at best times!). To do this: ** Post relevant curated content (from other sources, paired with my thoughts and advice) ** Repost classics ** Trivia, questions, engagement, tidbits, nuggets, quotes * When posting: include picture + content snippets! ** Photos, videos, links ** Questions, events, offers News Feed Ads * News Feed ads (as opposed to sidebar) generate more leads ** Article above about how to create them! * Require business page first * Prepare elements: text, images ** Above the fold (5-6 lines): Main offer, solution, phone # ** Below fold: additional info, CTA * Image: 600x315 pixels, 20% text (grid tool) * Make test posts, see which ones get most engagement! * Follow tutorials in article from here Google+ * Mostly seen as SEO tool, not compelling social network * Optimize my profile: great profile pic * When posting article: ** Choose first sentence carefully ** Keywords, phrases ** "+1" it Twitter General Notes * As always, use visuals along with tweets * Ask questions * Curate content Setting up my Profile Remember checklist (probably partly outdated after May 2014) * A mission: "@Username is where ____________ (describe your best prospects) know they will always get ___________ (what’s in it for them to follow your account?)." * Twitter is where people go for customer service! * Include link to blog / LinkedIn profile * Make my profile inviting! ** Welcome image: human, meaningful ** Bio: keywords. Clear, concise about my purpose ** Keep it clean, uncluttered New Design May 2014 Kelly Kingman on Big Brand System * Header image: 1500x500 ** What's my brand personality? ** What's coming up? ** What emotional quality for my image? ** Interesting quote? * Large profile image: headshot * New photo/video tab for direct access to visual content * Posts with more engagement: larger text / it's possible to pin tweets Tools * Tracking tools * Twitterbacks.com to design my Twitter background / Twitbacks as well (+ promotion) Optimizing Tweets * Short and simple (100 or less characters!) * Use retweetable words! ** you ** twitter ** please ** retweet ** post ** blog ** social ** free ** media ** help ** please retweet ** great ** social media ** 10 ** follow ** how to ** top ** blog post ** check out ** new blog post LinkedIn General Notes * Endorsements: similar to Facebook likes - not as powerful/valuable as recommendations! * Same article: how to remove contacts or duplicate accounts Quick Tips from Personal Branding Blog * Use notifications: find out what others are doing and congratulate, contribute... * Connect with related brands: research others and watch my "Invitations" section * Share great content that comes into my sights * Pay attention to who views views my profile * Give endorsements * Use InMail for cold approaching Pinterest General Notes * Reflect Pinterest integration in real life ** "As seen on Pinterest" * Share lifestyle, not products * Show appreciation to fans! (e.g. say thanks, give a cake) * Share personal history in candid pictures * Post pictures that inspire my audience ** Lifestyle, human connections Tools * Copyblogger-recommended Pin Button Wordpress plugin * Alternately: one of the available WP social media plugins How to Pin When pinning: * Use a strong, interesting quote from my post for description * Pin to several of my boards during peak pinning times (early morning, late evening - but: test) * Re-pin several times Instagram * March 2014: fastest-growing social media platform globally Software, Tools * 5 Social Sharing Tools Reviewed (good: Digg Digg, Socialize) * Software that integrates with Facebook (Twitter): Zendesk, Freshdesk, Salesforce Desk, HappyFox * "Social Listening" becomes important: seems like "HootSuite" allows monitoring name-dropping of my brand ** Also allows automated social media posting (?) ** Before responding: understand context (time, subject) and engage to share value and build relationships * Social Media Examiner article on Social Media Tools for Marketing ** Facebook Debugger: https://developers.facebook.com/tools/debug Browser Extensions Article on Social Media Examiner * Instagram for Chrome ** Allows all kinds of typical Instagram interaction * Giphy for GIF integration in Twitter * Bitmark: customize (personalize), catalogue, share shortened links * Buffer to schedule social media posts * Riffle for extensive Twitter statistics Using Visuals This very useful section has its own sub-page.